Fred Weasley Meets Winter
by WinterIsComing-Always
Summary: Fred Weasley finds himself falling into a black hole of misery, and who better to save him than the beautifully mysterious Evelyn Winters? OC and starts during the fourth book
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One; Fred

The edging of frost on the window was the first sign that fall was truly here. Fred liked it, the warning of cold and gloom to come; the rising grey matched his mood perfectly. He had risen early and gone on a walk to the neighboring town. The air was still frozen, forcing him to debut his winter coat. These morning walks had become a ritual of sorts; he would wake up, the pit in his stomach and the look of longing in his eyes, and immediately go outside in an attempt to keep this side of himself hidden from everyone, especially George. Hence the walking. Walking without a purpose was something that none of the Weasley's would ever take part in, therefore, Fred had a solid hour alone to get his act together. And think a hell of a lot. About everything.

It was exhausting.

The crunch of frosty grass underneath his boot brought him out of his reverie, his walk was complete, all too soon. A stream of smoke gave the Burrow life; the dead sleep that had captured the household was long gone, that much was obvious. Fred sighed, rolled his shoulders back, gritted his teeth and walked through the threshold.

Molly was the first to take note of Fred's presence. He noted her slight frown at the sight of his pink cheeks. He knew she didn't like his morning strolls, but she shrugged off whatever discomfort she had and beamed at him.

"Oh Fred! There you are, I have great news! Harry's replied to our letter, he's coming to the World Cup! Come celebrate!" Without waiting for a response, Fred found his mum's steel grip pulling him into the living room. It was quite a sight. From Ron and Hermione dancing around what must have been Harry's letter, to George and Ginny tempting Crookshanks with some Gnomes, to Bill and Charlie trying to take Percy seriously about some cauldrons or other, it was a wonder the house was still standing. It was chaos. His father, however, was no where to be seen.

"Oi! Freddie, get over here! We need another pair of hands, we caught too many of these buggers!" His twin's call brought Fred to the attention of everyone. Feeling the pressure of the spotlight, Fred forced a light laugh, and put his hands up in surrender,

"Gimme a min George, I'm roasting in this darn coat!" With that, Fred bounded up the stairs.

When he finally entered the safety of his bedroom, he sank to the floor. George could hardly be blamed for Fred being so...withdrawn as of late. He buried his hands in his hair, Fred himself had no clue as to what the cause was. He just felt...empty. There was no logic in it, he had a loving family, a great twin, a great school, he was handsome, wanted by several women, but even still, there seemed to be a black hole in him that just wanted _more. _He groaned. He was being selfish. His father had given them all a once in a lifetime opportunity, they were going to the WORLD CUP for Merlin's sake! Fred had to snap out of this, and he would, if anything for his family. He would be the Fred they knew and loved, and they would be happy and enjoy themselves at the World Cup. Shrugging off his parka, Fred pulled on a fresh t-shirt and some jeans and then headed back downstairs.

* * *

After the World Cup fiasco, Fred felt even more unattached. The whole thing, the muggles, the fires, the dark mark had left everyone in a kind of horrified daze, yet the bonds between them had strengthened, and Fred still felt hollow. The thought of his mum's last memory of him being a fight, his stomach twisted at the notion; and the worst part was, the death eater's that had destroyed the campground, marched in his dreams. He would wake up in a cold sweat and a silent scream at his lips. The first nightmare he had caused him to bite his tongue to stop himself from waking George, he couldn't even talk the next morning.

On the bright side, he would be leaving for Hogwarts in the morning, maybe all he needed was some time away from home. The morning of their departure was gloomy as ever, rain pounding on the windows, even breakfast was a bit on the rubbery side. By the time they reached the platform, Fred was getting ready to blow a socket. He rushed through the brick barrier and felt a sense of relief wash over him when he saw the crimson train.

Steeling himself and he plastered a smile on his face, Fred headed toward the train. He felt George's hand on his shoulder,

"You doing all right Freddie? You seemed a little down this morning..." Fred looked into his twin's eyes, they were sincere and for a moment, Fred almost told him everything he had been feeling. But only for a moment.

"Nah Georgie!" Fred took up a light tone, gently pushing George's shoulder, "Never been better! It's our year to shine mate." There was nothing left to be said, the duo quickly became the trio as Lee Jordan caught up with them. Fred laughed at the right times, threw in his witty banter when necessary, and gave himself a mental pep talk. _You can do this. You are Fred Weasley! The comedian of the school. You are going to have a great, fun filled year, starting right now! Nothing will get in the way. Nothing, this black hole ends now. _He knew it was no good though. The feeling of longing was still in the back of his mind, the pit grew in his stomach. He opened the door to their compartment and disappeared inside.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two; Evelyn

Joyous disbelief. Those were the only words she could find to describe her reaction to her Grandfather's news. She could not wipe the smile off her face. Evelyn couldn't even focus on what her Grandpa was saying. All she knew was he had finally said yes! She was going to Hogwarts! No more would she watch the students mill around Hogsmeade from her bedroom window, no more would her Grandfather, as lovely as he was, be "Professor" during the day time. She was going to go to a real school! Finally, a proper education was in her grasp.

"Evelyn Leah Winters! You had better be listening to me young lady." Aberforth's sharp voice jerked her back into reality. She met his ice blue eyes with her own and gave him a curt nod. He nodded with satisfaction, "As I was saying...I will allow you to enroll in Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry, IF..." The stress grandfather but on the "if" caused Evelyn's anxiety to spark. She was so close to victory and yet...

"Condition number one, you will stay away from Albus Dumbledore." Evelyn began to protest,

"But grandpa! He's the headmaster and your brother - "

"As far as I am concerned we have no relation, and there are plenty of professors who can help you just as he could. Albus is not a man to be trusted, your aunt would still be with us today if not for him." The room grew silent. Aberforth bowed his head, "No matter...condition number two, you will remain focused on your studies, I don't want you galavanting off and ruining any future opportunities. Condition number three, I expect to hear from you regularly and for you to keep good company. Condition number four, Albus has agreed to the boarding of Arggie, but you must control her, it's as I told you when you first got her, 'you will train her yourself, you will feed her yourself, and if she die, you will bury her yourself' you must control her, little one. And finally, swear to me, no matter who is asking, you must swear that you will confess to being a squib. This is of paramount importance my child, swear to me." Aberforth's eyes bore into her own. Shock ran through her, how could he ask her such a thing? She was no squib! She was powerful, more powerful than anyone could imagine. Her blood ran cold in her veins as she met his cold eyes with her own.

"I swear by the blood that runs through my veins, I will confess myself a squib." She wanted to spit the words into the mud as soon as she said them. Aberforth had to have known this, but her merely nodded, his mind already elsewhere.

"Go, pack your things, the train will be here soon."

Evelyn sprang to her feet, processing the news. Keeping to her studies would be no trouble, she had always kept to herself. Keeping good company, well, she had never really been one for friends so that should be no trouble. But being a squib! She tried to shake the thought from her mind, she would deal with that later. Arggie was a dream, so no trouble there. Evelyn whistled for the silver beauty, all 20 pounds of her. Although Arggie was very friendly and loving, she tended to distrust strangers, much like Evelyn herself. After fifteen years of living in the heart of Hogsmeade, Arggie still remained Evelyn's only companion.

"Ah...Arggie...what am I going to do with you?" She cupped the fox's arrow shaped head, "You must promise to behave!" Arggie nibble her fingers before taking off for Evelyn's room, her silver tail swishing out of sight. Evelyn sighed and took off after her. She really did have a lot of packing to do.

* * *

The sight of the scarlet and gold train jump started her heart. She had been waiting for this for as long as she could remember, to follow in her parents footsteps, maybe even find out their names. The only information grandfather had ever given her was they too had gone to Hogwarts. Evelyn's heart had always felt drained, as though it were reverently searching for something all the time. That something had to be Hogwarts, it was a part of her. It had to be.

She tightened her hold on Arggie's neck, the fox refused to cooperate with a leash, and hissed for the millionth time how she was to _stay by her side no matter what_. Arggie gently lowered herself into a sitting position, ears perked. Evelyn sighed and swung her bag onto her back. The train slowed to a halt. The doors slid open and she stared up into the Hogwarts Express. After all these years of begging, she was finally here.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three; Fred

The Great Hall was always an uproar of sound. Usually Fred was a big part of that uproar, but not tonight. Tonight, his mind was completely elsewhere. In fact, it was over at the Ravenclaw's table.

The air seemed to have vanished from the room, that had to be why he couldn't breathe...not because he had just spotted the newest addition to the House of Rowena Ravenclaw. That was just silly. Fred Weasley getting all breath-taken-away by a _girl! _Not likely. But still, Fred didn't recognize her, and there was no way she was a firstie...she was much too...matured...to be a first year. Perhaps she was an exchange student, Percy had been a whole new level of annoying this summer; hinting at some big surprise at Hogwarts but never giving anything away, damn him.

If he could only get a better look at her, maybe then he would recognize her. She was just sitting there, to be honest she looked scared. Not talking to anybody, drumming her fingers on the table, but the way she was sitting...she was aware of everything around her, listening and watching. It looked like she was waiting. For the feast to start? Fred frowned.

"Um...Fred? What are you staring at?" Hermione's voice snapped Fred back into the world that was the Gryffindor table. Fred jumped and looked at Hermione. She was looking at him with concern, her head slightly tilted, eyes squinted.

"No-nothing! Just...lost in thought is all." Fred let out a nervous laugh and ran his hand through his fiery hair.

As Dumbledore began his usual back to school speech, Fred kept sneaking glances at the Ravenclaw table, at that girl. She hadn't moved. She was still in the same rigid position as before. _You're being ridiculous. There's nothing special about her, you just don't recognize her. Now stop creeping on the poor girl and pay bloody attention! _Fred re-focused in on Dumbledore. He was going on about some tournament or other. Suddenly, George was grabbing Fred's wrist, and Percy's hint dropping suddenly made sense.

The _Triwizard Tournament._

"We have to, have to! Find away to fool that age limit, George!" Fred's fascination with mystery girl was put on halt. If he or George could win a thing like this, they'd be unstoppable. "Imagine the possibilities if we won..." Fred trailed off just imagining them, they'd be rich, everyone in the school would worship them (well those who didn't already worship them would).

"I know! We could...we could make something of ourselves! Something real. The joke shop!" The twins matching chocolate eyes met. Excitement sparked in between them and for the first time in months, Fred felt like his old self again.

Dumbledore was commanding attention, explaining that other schools of magic would be visiting in order to compete in the tournament, and all, ALL, of Hogwarts was expected to be on their best, most exemplary behavior. No. Questions. Asked.

The occupants of the Great Hall seemed to buzz with anticipation. Food appeared, the feast began. Some people were still in such a daze from Dumbledore's announcement, they didn't even notice the food. Fred and George dug in, George already discussing with Harry and Ron how they could sneak their names in. Before Fred could even realize what was happening, his mind was wandering. His longing returned as did his watchful gaze over the new Ravenclaw girl.

She definitely fit the part of a Ravenclaw. She even had raven black hair. Her food sat barely touched as she gently tapped the girl next to her. The girl leaned in and answered the question the black-haired girl had asked. She nodded at the response and looked up at the sky ceiling in a frustrated manner. It was obvious to anyone she wanted to leave. Her eyes left the ceiling and met Fred's dead on.

Fred froze. Her eyes moved away as soon as they had landed on him, but his heart was going crazy, his brain going into overdrive as he tried to comprehend those eyes.

Ice blue, they had looked through him in a way that was just, spooky. However, the truly crazy part about her eyes, as beautiful as they were, was that Fred had seen them before. Not on her, but...Fred turned to the teacher's table. Even from across the room, the eyes were unmistakable. Ice blue and just as sharp, they peered back at Fred through those half-moon spectacles.

"Students, you may head back to your dormitory's," A flash of blue darted from Ravenclaw's table, "Prefect's please escort the first years. Goodnight." Fred stood from the table, it wasn't possible for Dumbledore to have a family was it? But there was no doubt about it, their eyes matched, right down to the weird look-right-into-your-soul thing. Fred frowned. This was definitely too much thinking on his first night back into Hogwarts.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4; Evelyn

Evelyn couldn't help it, she was just bored out of her mind. Also, despite the many Hogsmeade trips she had spied on, she had never realized how huge the Hogwarts student body was. She felt out of place, unnatural surrounded by all these strangers. It made her skin crawl. She sat rigid, her fingers fidgeting on the table, eyes zoning out into a different world, ears open...listening.

"Goodness Harry's filled out some hasn't he?" Two girls, heads together in camaraderie squealed over some boy.

"I knoooow, Cho! You're so lucky you get to play Quidditch against him..." Evelyn was actually very anxious to try out this sport, this "quidditch".

"I can't believe Parvati got into Gryffindor, she gets to live in the same dormitory as Potter!" Apparently two twins had been separated, and who the hell was this Harry Potter guy? The name sounded familiar...she couldn't quite place him though. She had Aberforth to blame, he had never really let her out and about. Whenever she questioned him about the wizarding world he always grew cold and impatient, ranting on about the cruelty and violence of his race.

"A Helipoth is a spirit of fire which gallops and burns anything in its path. They make very good armies..." The dreamy voice caught her attention. Smiling, she shifted her eyes a fraction of an inch to see the speaker, a dirty blonde haired girl who was staring off into space and making elaborate gestures with her pale hands. The curly haired girl who she was talking to smiled vaguely and turned to the squealing girls. Honestly, it was just refreshing to find someone who could talk about something interesting.

Evelyn opened her mouth to introduce herself, but Dumbledore cut her off. Annoyed, she resumed her position of solitude and waited for her freedom. After a rather pointless speech about some tournament or other (who honestly cared if you weren't over 17? Evelyn herself had only turned 15 a few weeks ago.)

Food appeared on the table, some of the finest food she had ever seen. Yet her stomach didn't call for any of it. She leaned over to the girl sitting next to her, the chittery twin who was distraught over her own house placement.

"Excuse me, but do you know when we'll be allowed back to our rooms?" The girl had the dark skin of an Indian and big, friendly chocolate eyes. She smiled, bright white against dark, yet Evelyn could detect the slight air of annoyance in her answer.

"We're never on a set schedule. Whenever Dumbledore sees fit to release us is when we go..." Evelyn nodded and began to turn away when the stranger added, "You must be new here." She supposed the words weren't meant to be cruel, but they cut through her. Was it really that obvious? Was she so out of place?

She swung her head up at the ceiling, the stormy clouds and rain reflected in the candlelight. She closed her eyes and grimaced. _This is what you wanted, _she thought to herself, _and now you've got it, so enjoy it dammit! _

She began to look back at the table when she met a pair of dark eyes. Her heart skipped a beat for a moment before she quickly looked away. Evelyn's heart was going wild, she had no idea why either. She had only caught a glimpse of the bright orange hair framing the boy's face, but those eyes. She felt exposed, like he had just look through her. They had looked almost black, but she reasoned it had to be the light.

Her skin prickled, she could feel him staring, glancing to something else and then back at her. She felt shrunken under his gaze, like a bug under a microscope.

"Students, you may head back to your dormitory's," Evelyn didn't even wait for the Headmaster to finish, she fled the hall.

Ravenclaw tower was beautifully built. The tight wrapping of the spiral staircase made Evelyn feel enclosed and safe. Her dormitory was shared with three other girls, Cho, Marietta, and someone with the last name Fawcett. They had already claimed their beds in the past, leaving Evelyn with the corner bed right next to the window. She frowned, having grown up in Hogsmeade she knew how tricky windows could be, allowing the cold winter air to slip into a room unseen.

She clicked her tongue very quietly, she was alone in the room. Arggie poked her head out from under the bed, then shot out like a bullet towards her master. She tickled the fox behind the ears before she began to get ready for bed. Her trunk had been placed at the foot of her bed. The bed itself was very tidy with a thick canopy curtain encircling the entire bed. A small nightstand offered a lamp as well as a small dresser. She unpacked and set up Arggie's bed.

Climbing onto the windowsill, Evelyn gazed out over the castle grounds. The black ink lake showed a perfect copy of the moon. Everything was still, quiet...peaceful. '_You must confess yourself a squib!'_ Aberforth's voice still rang in her head. She threw a wary glance towards her closed dormitory door. Evelyn had never gone a full day without her abilities before, she was willing to risk breaking her promise. Turning back towards to window, Evelyn studied the metal frame work. The window's were designed to be opened, however the metal had been manipulated into a locked position.

Evelyn raised a slender hand, closed her eyes, sighed, and began. Her hand twitched to the side, eyes narrowed in concentration, the metal framework groaned. She pulled her hand into a fist and then pulled it up in a sharp arc. The strip of metal creating the face of the bay window slid out of the sheath of metal that had held it captive for all these years. She spun her hand and out came the screws, and with a groan, the window flew open.

Cold air rushed into the room. Arggie was up and at her side immediately, ears flicking towards the new life of the outdoors. Evelyn allowed herself a laugh. That was by far the smoothest bending she had done yet, especially with metal being her shakiest bendable and windows being very fragile in nature. Smiling, she shut the window and repeated her movements backwards, leaving no sign of the window being opened.

Evelyn was in bed, dead to the world, by the time all other life returned to her dormitory, the forbidden use of her powers gone unnoticed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Please note: Although I'm starting the story off in the fourth year, I am not going to include details of the Triwizard Tournament, if you want those go read the real books. I'm also not following the whole no Quidditch thing, you gotta have it. Reviews are appreciated!**

Chapter 5; Fred

Fred had no idea where he was. The dense forest offered no light and at every turn he met a tree to the face. The air was cold, growing colder by the second it seemed. Ice creeped along the forest floor, binding Fred's feet to the ground. Mist formed around him and invisible shadows tossed and turned the swirling mist. He squinted hard, trying to make out any shape.

A bright flash of light nearly blinded him as the forest in front of him burst into flames. Panic flooded through Fred, he tried to wrench his feet from the solid ground to no avail. Screams echoed in his ears as human shapes flew around him, fleeing the flames, and something...else. He could barely make out the shapes, black against the flame, laughing and screeching as they neared him.

Flashes of green illuminated the faces of the Death Eaters. Fred opened his mouth to scream but was cut short by a frozen hand.

"We've got a special treat for you don't we? Filthy blood-traitor scum!" The biggest of the Death Eaters spat in Fred's face and kicked him hard in the gut. Fred's blood ran cold as the hand behind him wrenched his face up; the Dementor's Kiss. The Death Eaters guffawed at the look on Fred's face as the realization hit him.

Opening his eyes, he met the Dementor's eye. However, under the torn hood of the Dementor was a face. A human face; a girl's face. Her piercing blue eyes met his. She laughed,

"Curiosity killed the cat, love."

Her eyes turned blood red as she began to suck his soul.

Fred jerked awake, the scream barely reaching his lips before he clapped a clammy hand over his own mouth. His lanky frame had tied itself up in his sheets and his entire body was drenched in sweat, cold sweat. The scream was gone. Fred flopped back onto his pillows shivering and gasping for breath. Once he had his breathing under control he untangled himself from his sheets.

"Bloody hell..." He murmured as he ran a shaky hand through his bright hair. He had been hoping that the nightmares would stop, or at least lessen when he returned to Hogwarts. It seemed his hopes were in vain.

Fred stood and drifted towards the window. After the feast Fred, George, and Lee has taken turns trying to outwit Peeves and somehow trick him into destroying the Slytherin's common room. Unfortunately, Mcgonagall had chased them off before they had gotten any results. Fred had even tried to stay awake in hopes that a sleep deprived sleep would grant him at least one night free of nightmares.

Groaning, his head knocked against the window, eyes closed, he pictured his dream again. Most importantly, he pictured the girl again. No, she had not been a girl, she had been...something else entirely. Fred shuddered, _it doesn't mean anything you stupid git. You don't even know her name. 'Sides, if she was really evil she would be in Slytherin, not Ravenclaw. _Sighing, he turned back to his bed. He couldn't think straight, that had to be it. All he needed was one good night's sleep.

"Curiosity killed the cat" she had said, _but, _Fred thought with a dry chuckle, _satisfaction brought it back._ With that, he crawled back into bed, determined to sleep the rest of the night peacefully.

Fred Weasley would get that satisfaction if it was the last thing he did; and based on his dream...it very well may be. As sleep began to take him, he saw those icy blue eyes and he felt the black hole in him got a tad bit smaller.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6; Evelyn

Evelyn had risen at dawn out of habit or nerves. She fidgeted with her school robes and yanked on the hem of the skirt. The fabric and design of the clothing felt unnatural; her attire at home had always consisted of simple comforts, long-sleeved shirts, jeans, and leather boots. The plain black shoes cramped her feet and were incredibly stiff. She huffed and collapsed onto the plush couches in the common room. The dark blue calmed her as she pulled out her class schedule for the millionth time.

**Schedule**

_Potions - Mondays and Fridays (third and fourth period)_

_Advanced Care of Magical Creatures - Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (first and second period)_

_Fifth and sixth period are free - Flying lessons available during seventh and eighth_

_Advanced History of Magic - Tuesdays and Thursdays; every other Saturday (11 am to 1 pm) (seventh and eighth period)_

_Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts - Tuesdays and Thursdays (fourth and fifth period)_

_Herbology - Tuesdays and Thursdays (first and second period)_

_Third and sixth period are free - Dueling Club offered_

Aberforth had taught Evelyn a lot, she had all of her generals done except for Herbology and Potions. Most of the electives had been covered by him as well, leaving her no choice but to enroll in mostly Advanced classes. The flying lessons and Dueling Club ought to be fun. "_You must confess yourself a squib" _the words were a nasty reminder that she couldn't do anything! It was ridiculous. How would it look, saying she's a squib when she's enrolled in a school of WITCH CRAFT AND WIZARDRY for Christ's sake? Crumpling her schedule Evelyn stood and began to pace. It was quarter to six, breakfast being at 6, giving Evelyn a good thirty minutes to come up with an escape plan. She was mortified at the mere thought of confessing herself to be a squib. She wasn't even sure she was able to utter the filthy lie.

An owl hooted from the open window. The windows in the common room were openable, and now Evelyn understood why. She examined the owl who was sitting in front of her, it's leg extended expectantly. Delicately, she pulled the letter from the leg of the owl, who hooted in appreciation and took off into the morning sun. Aberforth's writing was scrawled on the envelope.

_Evelyn - _

_I hope you've settled in well and are enjoying yourself. I received a rather unwelcome visit yesterday in the form of a house elf informing me that Albus did not wish for you to proclaim yourself a squib. After much thought on the matter I realized he was right. I do not want you to face the pressure of having to answer for being a squib whilst enrolled in a school of magic. However, I don't want anyone, especially my dear brother to know of the extent, or even the existence of your powers. As you know, you do possess some wizarding magic, enough to make a wand operational in your hand. Albus has agreed to lend you a spare wand of his (I don't know where he procured it or from who, so please, I stress please, be very careful when handling and using said wand). He will have it delivered to you at some point today. The magic will be hard, but I know you'll be able to pull it off, just remember, never expose who you really are. It is of paramount importance. _

_I love you very much, have fun!_

_- Aberforth_

_P.S. Rubeus Hagrid, the groundskeeper and your Care of Magical Creatures teacher, has agreed to board Arggie outdoors, don't protest, we both know it's better than having her cooped up indoors. Just go early to his class today and he'll get her set. _

Evelyn whooped! The letter was an answer to all her prayers. She tried to ignore the part about her _still _not being allowed to use her powers, win some lose some. Reading over the letter one last time Evelyn chucked it into the fireplace, watching the corners of the letter blacken and curl, she headed off to breakfast.

The Great Hall looked glorious that morning. The ceiling showed the bright and clear skies the students has to look forward to that day. Evelyn allowed herself a smile as she made her way to the empty Ravenclaw table, practically the whole hall was empty. Despite the emptiness, the golden platters were still chalk full of food. All sorts of variations of bacon, sausage, egg, cheese, potatoes, cereals, muffins, pancakes, waffles, toast, and bowls of fruits and veggies were spread across the vast table. Aberforth's letter had put Evelyn in a particularly good mood and she filled her plate with all the nearest foods: egg, bacon, and cheese bagels, blueberry muffins, and succulent fruit bowls. She found herself wishing she had brought a book as she began to devour her plate of food, there was hardly any noise in the Hall and the few Ravenclaw's that had joined the table sat beady eyed and unmoving.

"Did you know that the Nargle is know to infest mistletoe and be a mischievous thief? People who kiss under a Nargle infested mistletoe often find themselves missing their jewelry." The dreamy voice from yesterday came from nowhere. Evelyn jumped in surprise, dumping her entire pumpkin juice into her lap. She sat in shock for a moment before turning to the strange girl sitting next to her. The dirty blonde hair was much longer than Evelyn had originally thought, her eyes seemed to protrude from her head and she was chuckling at the sight of Evelyn, completely drenched in pumpkin juice. Evelyn blushed and quickly began to try and mop up the mess. The girl quickly pulled out her wand, shaking her head at Evelyn's efforts.

"Impervius!" The juice soaked out of Evelyn's uniform and disappeared into the air, "I'm Luna, Luna Lovegood. Sorry about that."

"Thanks, don't worry about it. I'm Evelyn Winters." Evelyn extended her hand but Luna was already moving on.

"You're new, aren't you? I've never seen you before, but that's impossible unless you're new." She waited expectantly for Evelyn to explain herself. Evelyn felt her face heating up. She had never had to introduce herself before, or explain the complicated story that was her life. She scratched her nose, stalling. "It's okay that you don't want to talk about it. People always touch their face whenever they're uncomfortable, which I tend to make them." At this Evelyn looked up in shock, but the girl just sat there buttering her toast, humming a light tune under her breath.

"No!" The word was out of Evelyn's mouth before she could stop it. Luna looked at her curiously, "I-I mean...y_ou_ aren't making me uncomfortable...I'm just not used to new...things." The sentenced ended very awkwardly and Evelyn slap herself mentally but Luna just smiled.

"Well that's alright. Hogwarts is an easy place to fall in love with." The dreamy look in her eyes returned as she became focused in her breakfast again. Evelyn began to breath easy again. She liked Luna, even if she did seem a little batty. They finished their breakfast in silence, but when Evelyn got up to leave, Luna followed her. Evelyn took a deep breath, _you can do this. you can do this. YOU CAN DO THIS! _

"I've actually been home schooled my entire life, this is my first encounter with a public school." There, that sounded normal. Well, minus the homeschool thing.

"My father is the editor for _The Quibbler_, he home schooled me until I was of age to go to Hogwarts." Evelyn had read _The Quibbler,_ she now understood Luna's battiness, but, she reasoned, it was the good kind of battiness. The interesting kind. A lot of boring afternoons had been saved by reading issues from the magazine. Evelyn suddenly realized that Luna had continued talking, her newest subject made Evelyn's skin crawl. "My mother died in front of me when I was nine, it was terrible. My dad always struggles to fill the hole she left...what about your parents?" Evelyn closed her eyes, squeezing them tight before she continued,

"My parents didn't want me. Left me on my grandfather's doorstep when I was three." There was a momentary silence, then, "I'm sorry about your mother, Luna." Luna just smiled, her eyes a bit sad.

"I'm more sorry for you, at least I knew my mother. I'm sure they wanted you...but sometimes things just go wrong." The truth in Luna's words both stung and warmed Evelyn. Aberforth had always been harsh about the subject of her parents, never sharing much more than the fact that they didn't want Evelyn any farther than they could throw her. Yet Luna's words, naive as they were, helped ease the pain of the truth.

They continued down the hall in silence, contemplating their lives until they reached Ravenclaw toward. Luna reached the bronze Eagle first and asked for entrance. A silky voice inquired,

"_I am the beginning of the end, and the end of time and space. I am essential to creation, and I surround every place. What am I?" _Luna stood in silence, eyes closed, thinking. Evelyn had never been good with these type of riddles. She excelled at the problem solving riddles, she wondered if Ravenclaw was the right House for her. Luna's head snapped up, her eyes bright,

"The letter E; End, timE, spacE, Every placE!" The eagle bowed it's head and the tower opened to the two Ravenclaws. Luna was smiling, obviously please with herself. Evelyn smiled,

"Good thing I have you with me, wit beyond measure I certainly do not have! Now if you'll excuse me." Evelyn bounded up the staircase to her room. It was already half past seven, her first class of Advance Care of Magical Creatures started at eight. She threw her hair up and called Arggie to her. The fox came slinking towards her, obviously put out about being inside on such a beautiful day.

"Don't worry, I'm taking you out right now!" Arggie gently licked Evelyn's hand before giving her a light nip. The fox then ran under the bed and retrieved a slender piece of wood. Evelyn recognized it immediately. Her new wand. She handled the wand with care, sensing the power it held in it's core. She slipped it into the folds of her robe, figuring she would experiment with it later, and headed out of the castle.

As she neared the front doors, she heard shouting along with some bumping and snarling.

"You bleeding idiotic git! There's a reason fanged frisbees are banned, and this is why!" A darker skinned boy with dreadlocks rounded the corner. He was holding his left hand gingerly, it looked like a wild animal had tried to rip it off. He was being led by a tall laughing red haired boy. For a moment Evelyn panicked, thinking it was the strange boy from dinner, the one who had stared. But something told her it wasn't him. He couldn't stop laughing though, despite the blood coming from his friend's hand.

"Dammit George! Stop laughing, it bloody hurts. And Fred! Hurry the hell up. Merlin's beard man...you been dragging all morning." The laughing one, George, tried to contain his guffaws.

"Aw Lee, get a sense of humor! We'll get the firstie back no sweat!" George clapped the bleeding boy, Lee, on the back. Lee glared at his companion before cracking a smile. Neither of them had taken notice of their audience. Evelyn could feeling Arggie against her leg, tense, frightened. Evelyn began to slowly back away. Maybe there was another way out of the castle. She was almost to the corner when she heard the voice of their missing companion, Fred they had called him.

"Oi! You prat!" Evelyn turned to see a tall redhead dart into view, chasing a snarling green frisbee while the owner of the frisbee took of in the other direction. Lee and George began to laugh all over again, the disfigured hand temporarily forgotten. The boy suddenly leaped towards Evelyn, who moved to get out of the way but instead tripped over Arggie and slammed herself into the wall. The frisbee swerved towards her just as Fred caught it, his momentum sending him straight for her. Evelyn shrieked and covered her face, preparing for the impact. But it never came.

She peeked out from her shield of fingers. Fred had caught himself, barely, and was leaning into the wall right in front of her. His face was so close she could feel his breath mixing with hers. Embarrassment washed over her, but thank Merlin he wasn't paying attention. Instead he was holding up the snarling frisbee in triumph, having **A**. successfully caught the bugger, and **B**. done it without being injured. George and Lee were cheering.

Evelyn tried to extract herself, but the redhead was too close. She risked a glance at his face and froze. It was the boy, the boy from dinner. His fiery hair matched George's, she assumed they were twins, but this one just looked...felt...different. It was definitely him. She felt even more embarrassed than before and tried to squeeze by the arms that caged her between Fred and the wall. She couldn't help but notice how well defined his arms were. The guy was definitely in good shape. Unfortunately, her decision to escape turned to be a tactical error. George's voice suddenly piped up over the laughter and cheers,

"Hey, who's that you got pinned there?" Evelyn froze. Fred turned towards her, a smile on his face. The second he saw her though, he froze as well. His smile faltered...his mouth opened but nothing came out.

Evelyn could feel how red her face was. Fred had not moved away from her and had apparently forgotten about the fanged frisbee in his hand. Sensing it's captor was distracted the creature bit down. He yelped and jumped back. Evelyn darted out from under him only to trip over Arggie again! She sprawled onto the floor and whipped around towards the fox who turned and slunk towards the laughing George. The other red haired boy glared at his twin and leaned down towards Evelyn. He offered his hand.

"You alright?" His voice was quiet and she could tell he was embarrassed as well. He searched her face, an air of familiarity in his eyes. Hesitantly she took his hand, noticing right away how small her hand seemed in his own calloused hand as it completely swallowed hers as he helped her to her feet. "Sorry about that..." He stepped away from her and rubbed the back of his neck, averting his gaze, a blush rising in his cheeks. Evelyn laughed nervously,

"Don't worry about it...no harm done." He peeked at her from under his eye lashes, a hint of a smile on his face.

"Pretty loyal fox you got yourself." Evelyn smiled and glared at the silver thing,

"Worthless piece of...she's the whole reason I was down here this early you know. I spoil her.." She faded off as she realized that this guy probably couldn't give a rat's ass, but he was smiling at her, waiting for her to continue, "I better go," his face fell a fraction of an inch, "I-I'm gonna be late." she stammered and whistled for Arggie. She took off down the hall as he called after her,

"I'm Fred, by the way! Fred Weasley." She turned towards him as he ran a hand through his hair, staring after her.

"Evelyn...Evelyn Winters." Then she turned and ran out the castle and to the cabin by the woods.


	7. Chapter 7

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Chapter 7; Fred

"You great big lummox. Get your ass out of bed." Fred grunted and swung a fist at whoever was trying to get him up. For the first time in over a year, Fred had slept well. After that first nightmare anyways; and he did not want that to be interrupted. George easily ducked his swing and with a mighty shove, Fred tumbled out of bed. He sprang to his feet and promptly tackled his twin brother. Their momentum sent them flying into Lee's bed, who roared with laughter before diving into the rumble.

* * *

"Well...that escalated quickly." Fred grinned at his twin, feeling better than he had all summer. Lee groaned, he had escaped from the fight with only a bloody nose and a fat lip. Fred and George sported twin black eyes and bloody lips. All three of the boys were covered in bruises. George leaned back on his mattress, which he had at one point used to pin Lee and Fred to the wall. He chuckled and held a cloth to his bleeding lip,

"Aw Fred, we need to fight more often, that was bloody pathetic. And Lee! I know you're a great commentator but for my Merlin's sake - " Fred piped in,

"And there's Fred with the left hook - "

"George with the block kick combo - "

"And finally, Lee takes the heat from both!" The twins finished, smiles as wide as the universe as Lee laughed, stood, and socked them each in the gut.

"At least I made it interesting," He grinned evilly, "Now if you ladies will excuse me, I'm going to clean myself up before breakfast, cheerio chaps!" He sauntered out of the room. Fred glared after him, holding his side. George clapped him on the back,

"All in good spirit eh?" Fred met his eyes and nodded.

"Aways Georgie." He groaned as he pulled himself up off the floor. After finding his wand and cleaning his and George's face off, the pair headed down for breakfast. George whistling a jovial tune and Fred skipping in step. He was beginning to feel like his old self again when he turned the corner into the Great Hall and was bombarded by fan girls. Apparently Lee had spread the grand story of him fighting off the two twins in a battle over the best mattress. Fred rolled his eyes and left George to deal with it,

"Ladies, ladies please...calm yourselves. I am afraid to tell you, you have been deceived - " Fred smirked as he left George to his devices. He made his way to the Gryffindor table, it was almost quarter of seven and he was starving.

"Morning all." Hermione, Ginny, Harry, and Ron all smiled up at him and murmured their own good mornings. He sat and began to fill his plate. As Harry and Ron began to complain about their bad luck with getting stuck in Potions on a Monday, Fred's mind drifted. His dream was still fresh in his mind and his eyes wandered to the Ravenclaw table. She wasn't there. He tried to ignore the twinge of sadness at the observation and turned his focus back to his table.

"Who do you think the other schools are?" Ron, Harry, and Hermione were discussing the upcoming Tournament. George slid into a vacant seat with Lee in tow.

"Alright, Mr. Warrior over here," Lee smiled sheepishly while George lightly socked him in the arm and continued, "says that he'll have the aging potion ready in a few weeks. So we are a go!" They high-fived while Hermione shook her head.

"A simple aging potion will never work! Dumbledore would have thought of that." Fred chuckled

"My dear Hermione, that what makes it so brilliant, it's so simple!" He grinned wide as a Cheshire cat when something caught his eye. He stood from the table, "George, Lee, if you would join me please, I do believe we have a rule breaker to apprehend!" He waved to his fellow Gryffindor's before heading out of the Great Hall and after the fanged frisbee he had just seen a first year from Slytherin stuff under his cloak. It was turning into a good morning after all.

* * *

The oh so tremendous trio raced through the halls, shooting jinxes at each other and ducking down secret passages until they finally caught up with the firstie,

"'Ello mate!" George tried his best attempt at an Australian accent. Lee and Fred snickered. The first year has a pinched face, watered down grey eyes, and frizzy red hair. He glared at them.

"What do you want eh? Bunch of Gryffindor scum, I heard about you, bunch o' mudblood loving freaks you is!" The boy tried to make a run for it but Fred pinned him easily, he could feel his anger starting to get the better of him. He tried to calm his racing heart and managed to speak very calmly,

"Look...we don't want any trouble. But I know you have a fanged frisbee...and trust me when I say you're lucky we caught you with it, anyone else may actually punish you. Now hand it over." The watery eyes looked at him in disbelief.

"Is that all you want? Fine then, have it!" With that, the boy suddenly hurled the frisbee and Lee. The frisbee latched onto the commentators hand and began to snarl and rip at the flesh. Lee yelled in alarm and flung the frisbee back at the boy. Fred slammed the Sytherin to the ground along with the frisbee. Lee was hurling curses and was screaming at the boy,

"You bleeding idiotic git! There's a reason fanged frisbees are banned, and this is why!" Lee lunged for the boy and George quickly grabbed him, laughing, and pulled him around the corner. Fred looked at the boy. He was struggling to break free and looked positively terrified. Fred suddenly felt a sort of pity for the boy, his anger vanishing.

"Kid...what do you think you're doing?" He let the boy up. He shrank away from him and sniffed, wiping his nose.

"I needed protection. The upperclassmen...they can sense weakness." The boy's eyes jumped around in fear. Fred chuckled,

"Kid, Hogwarts isn't like that, you just gotta stand up for yourself. Make some friends. You'll see." The boy looked at Fred like he was crazy,

"Are you kidding? After people find out about this, that I got pinned by a blood-traitor Weasley," Fred's gaze darkened, the boy shrank further into the wall, "No offense...but no one will want to be my friend!" Fred sighed, he had never had these troubles.

"I won't tell." The boy gaped at him before his face hardened.

"You're lying." With that he jumped to his feet, re-releasing the fanged frisbee and took off. The frisbee snapped at Fred, who dove out of the way, and took off around the corner.

"Oi! You prat!" Fred followed the frisbee. He heard a roar of laughter and growled, _those gits think everything is just so funny._ He swiped at the frisbee, missed, and caught a glimpse of someone standing in the hallway. The frisbee swerved toward the figuring, a girl, she tried to move out of the way but tripped over something sleek and shiny. He lunged at the frisbee, caught it and almost crashed into the girl. At the last second he caught himself, his arms surrounding her. She had ducked, so Fred turned to the laughing idiots and raised the frisbee, triumphant. They began to cheer and Fred momentarily forgot about his prisoner.

"Hey, who's that you got pinned there?" George was craning his neck trying to see. Embarrassment flooded through Fred as realized how close he was to this stranger, her breath was cold and sweet, mixing with his own. He turned toward his captive, planning on pulling of his closeness as a joke, smile in place he met her eyes. He forgot how to breath.

It was her. The Ravenclaw girl! And he was so damn close to her...he felt his smile slip. She was staring at him in horror, shock, and something else that he couldn't quite place. He opened his mouth, begging his brain to start working, to say something, introduce himself, anything! She continued to look at him, a blush on her cheeks, black hair everywhere, and piercing eyes meeting his own. Suddenly a sharp pain shot through his hand. Fred yelped, throwing the frisbee as he jumped away from the girl and the wall.

She darted away from him only to trip over the silver thing again. He could see now it was a fox. George and Lee began to snicker despite Fred sending them a death glare. He approached the girl, her face red from embarrassment, and offered his hand.

"You alright?" His voice wasn't his, it was gentle and soft. Not his. He searched her face, meeting her blue eyes, the same as Dumbledore's, and had to keep himself steady as she took his offered hand. He became immediately aware of his large and calloused hand, he completely encompassed hers. When she was on her feet Fred drew away quickly despite the urge to never release her hand. He rubbed his neck instead and looked at the ground. Chagrin filled him. "Sorry about that..." She laughed nervously, and seemed to survey herself,

"Don't worry about it...no harm done." She rocked onto her toes and back to her heels, he looked up at her and was overcome with the need to see her smile, Fred then went about saying the lamest joke he had ever uttered in his entire life.

"Pretty loyal fox you got yourself." She smiled, her eyes brightening, Fred's breath caught in his throat.

"Worthless piece of...she's the whole reason I was down here this early you know. I spoil her.." She stopped talking and shifted from foot to foot. Fred looked at her, smiling. They were actually having a conversation! She looked nervous. "I better go," he felt his own face fall as she quickly continued, "I-I'm gonna be late." With that, she darted down the hall, her fox not far behind. Before he could stop himself, like he hadn't already made a big enough fool of himself, he called after her,

"I'm Fred, by the way! Fred Weasley." She turned to look at him, her black hair whipping around her face. She grinned, almost like she didn't have control over the grin.

"Evelyn...Evelyn Winters." With that, she disappeared out the castle doors. Fred sagged against the wall, ran his hand through his hair,

"Evelyn..." He whispered. Beautiful. He turned, a stupid grin plastered across his face, and took off after his idiot brother and best friend. Today, Fred owed that smile to none other than a spineless Slytherin boy! Who would have thought.


	8. Chapter 8

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Chapter 8; Evelyn

Rubeus Hagrid had turned into one of the jolliest of fellows. He had a love for animals that could not be matched and had taken a liking to Arggie almost immediately. He had never even heard of a fox he had said and was completely taken with Arggie. Even his great bloodhound, Fang, seemed to like her. Hagrid explained that Arggie could venture in and out of the hut and from there she would have a run of the grounds. Despite some misgivings, Evelyn agreed to the arrangements, knowing it was indeed the best for Arggie.

There were not many students enrolled in Advance Care of Magical Creatures. Because it was an advanced class the houses were mixed. Luna was in the class, immediately Evelyn headed towards her. She was talking to a bushy haired Gryffindor. They seemed to be arguing about some Crumple Horned...something or other. Evelyn turned away from Luna and promptly ran into a very tall Slytherin. He caught her before she hit the ground, and immediately stepped away, seeming shocked at his own actions. His white blond hair was combed back and his grey eyes looked her up and down, a sneer plastered on his face.

"What are you supposed to me? Snow White or some shit?" With that, he strolled away.

"Don't take that git seriously." She turned towards a black haired green eyed boy. He grinned at her, "Draco Malfoy is the definition of git, don't be afraid to sock him once in awhile, Hermione did last year." He nudged the bushy haired girl talking to Luna. She blushed and shushed the boy, muttering something about nobodies business, "Aw well, one day she'll be proud. I'm Harry, Harry Potter. And this is my friend, Ron Weasley." She shook their hands. This was happening so fast.

"I'm Evelyn." Luna drifted over the Evelyn, a sunny smile on her face.

"I didn't know you were in this class. Can you see the threstrals?" Evelyn looked at her in confusion, following Luna's hand to a blank clearing. She shook her head, "Oh well, I suppose that is best." Luna turned away from them and bounced over to her clearing of threstrals. Hermione walked up to their group.

"Aren't you new? How are you in an advanced class?" Evelyn looked away uneasily

"Lots of homeschooling." She flashed a grin before turning to the head of the class. Hagrid lumbered into the yard and began to explain to careful life style of something called a "blast-ended shrewt".

* * *

Evelyn also had Potions with the three Gryffindors. She ended up sitting with Harry, who grumbled complaints about their greasy haired potions master. She soon saw why. For some unexplained reason, Professor Snape loathed Harry, and all the other Gryffindors for that matter. He left Evelyn alone; she was competent enough and not a Gryffindor.

As fifth period rolled around Evelyn could hardly contain her excitement. Through many whispered conversations with Harry over the soft bubble of their cauldrons, he had filled her in about the wonderful game of Quidditch. Although he said most people wouldn't be at flying lessons their first day back, and many didn't need them, he had urged her to go, mentioned something about getting a small game going. He and Ron would be there he assured her. Said it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. So she went.

The Quidditch pitch appeared to be empty. A barrel of brooms were to the left of the entrance. She grabbed one and walked out onto the field. Nervously she eyed the broom. It twitched in her hand, wanting to be free.

"First time flying?" She jumped at the voice and whirled around. Fred grinned at her surprise. He was leaning on his own broom as the rest of the Weasleys and Harry took off. A few individual players who she didn't know soon followed them. Fred was still on the ground with her. She had to wrack her brain to remember what he had just asked.

"Ye-ah. Very first time. I'm afraid I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do." Her laugh was shaky, Fred's dark eyes narrowed with concern.

"Well we can't have that. Here, I'll teach you." Before she could get a word in edgewise, Fred was by her side. "First, put you broom on the ground. You have to show the broom you're confident enough to ride." He set his own broom on the ground, held his arm directly over it, and "UP!" Evelyn jumped at the sudden increase in the volume of his voice. The broom sped into his outstretch hand. He caught it with ease then turned to look at Evelyn. She took a deep breath, feeling rather foolish.

"Up!" The broom shot up, hit her waiting hand and kept going. Fred was right there before she could even register what was happening. One arm wrapped around her while the other snatched her broom out of the air. She tried to steady herself; Fred, focused on keeping her from falling and her runaway broom, had pulled her awfully close. His lips brushed her ear and she erupted in goose bumps. His whisper filled her ear and sent shivers down her spine.

"Remember, confidence. The broom wants you, you just have to take it." He moved away from her. His eyes burned into hers. Without looking at the broom, she held her hand out, determined to not be made a fool. Determined not to try and take another meaning from his words. He watched her every move.

"UP." She caught the sturdy handle with ease. Fred wiggled his eyebrows and hopped onto his own broom, and kicked off the hard ground. Energy and excitement flooded through Evelyn's veins. For the first time since she'd arrived at Hogwarts, she felt like her old self. She shut off inhibitions and kicked off the ground. The air soared around her, taking her back to the summers she had spent in the air temples, higher than the clouds, set on perilous cliffs, bending at her own will. She smiled.

"You certainly look like you've flown before." Harry flew nearer to her. The others were holding their game, looking a tad bit annoyed. Harry nodded toward them, "Come on, Gin's team needs another player." Harry's team had the Gryffindor Keeper, Oliver Wood, and two of the team's chasers, Angelina and Alicia. Harry was the seeker, obviously, and George swung his beaters bat menacingly. On her own team, Ginny Weasley, the youngest Weasley played opposite Harry as a seeker. Ron looked green in the Keeper's spot while Fred pretended to use Katie's head as a bludger. Evelyn was expected to play as chaser alongside Katie.

Oliver was yelling at Harry to get on with it, they only had the practice balls for so long. Harry blew the whistle and the game began. Ginny and Harry were gone in a heartbeat, both searching for the elusive snitch. Angelina darted forward and snatched the quaffel from Katie's fingertips. She zoomed down the pitch, Alicia keeping up in case of emergency. Ron was shaking at the incoming player and despite the dead accuracy of Fred's bludgers, Angelina was just having a lucky day. The quaffle zoomed past Ron's left foot. He sagged on his broom. Angelina and Alicia cheered. Katie growled.

Evelyn shot towards the falling quaffle. The broom was much slower than she would have liked and she made a mental note to buy a faster broom. She shot out her right hand and snatched the quaffle out of the air. She zoomed upwards and made her way back into the game. Katie swerved to meet her, she swerved from side to side, waiting for the pass. Alicia dove towards her. Evelyn was way ahead of her, at the last second she passed to Katie and barrel-rolled. Alicia's dive swooped on past. Katie didn't waste time, she darted up the field with Angelina in tow. Evelyn raced after them as George raised his bat. She assumed he had the same accuracy as Fred, she was barely in hearing distance of Katie.

"Three o-clock bludger. Drop back pass." The words were out of her mouth before she even knew what she was saying. Katie understood her though. She pulled her broom up sharply and dropped the quaffle at the same time. Evelyn grabbed it and sped off, George's bludger whizzed right in front of the halted Katie. The drop back pass had thrown of Angelina, leaving Wood as Evelyn's only opponent. She met his calculating gaze and gave away nothing. She spun and kicked the quaffle sending a nasty curveball into the bottom right hoop. She whooped and turned to her cheering team. Oliver looked shocked.

The final score was 90-30; the caught snitch was worth 50 points. Ginny had barely caught the little ball before Harry. She confessed later that she had just closed her eyes and taken a blind snatch. Katie and Evelyn has scored two goals apiece and Ron had made some spectacular saves. The hour and thirty minute game had been enough for Evelyn to fall in love with being a chaser. Harry had even come up to her after the game and insisted she try out for the Ravenclaw team, as a chaser. No exceptions.

The idea left a smile on her face as she changed into clean clothing.

"You were pretty impressive out there." Fred's voice met her when she emerged from the girls tent. She smiled, glad she finally felt like herself. She could stop acting like a giddy school girl.

"Thanks, you have a pretty mean swing, it's a shame we're not on the same team." Fred's eyes flicked down and then back to hers.

"Ya well...at least I'll get to aim half-hearted bludgers at you." He gave a weak smile and Evelyn pushed him lightly.

"Come on, half-hearted! What is this?"

"I could never hurt you." The confession surprised Evelyn. She looked at Fred, his eyes were serious and there was no hint of a smile on his face. Evelyn tried to lighten his mood,

"Psh you barely know me, trust me, soon you'll _want _to knock me off my broom." She grinned at the Weasley boy, threw him a wink and then bounded off to dinner, leaving a very wanting Fred on the Quidditch Pitch.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you so much for the reviews! I know I've been forever, but school was killing me so I haven't had time to write but I'm back for the time being! :)**

* * *

Chapter 9; Fred

School continued without much event. The anticipation of the mysterious Triwizard guests were all that kept most students awake in class. Fred had a different reason though. That reason was his Advanced History of Magic class. Although it was the most mind-numbing class Hogwarts had to offer, Evelyn was enrolled. Which was just enough to make Fred skip on his way to class every Tuesday, Thursday, and every other Saturday.

"Hey you." Evelyn jumped. She had obviously just gotten back from the Quidditch Pitch, her hair was a mess and her cheeks were glowing, and her books were flying everywhere in her rush to get to class on time. Fred grinned before he snatched her books from her and continued towards the classroom.

"Fred! You don't have to do that," He felt her catch up to him, he could hear the smile in her voice. "I can carry my own books."

"Oh I know that, deary, you forget I've watched you play Quidditch. Speaking of, have you heard about your tryout results yet?" As they turned the corner, Fred missed the blush that rose in Evelyn's cheek at the word 'deary'.

"Um, no not yet. Roger says he'll let me know by tonight though! So I'll let you know?" Fred laughed before he swooped down and whispered in her ear, his breath on her neck, he couldn't help but notice the goosebumps that erupted on her pale skin.

"We both know you're a given choice, Roger would be a bloody idiot to not recruit you." He began to pull away despite his urge to smell her hair and kiss her slender neck. Good Merlin what was wrong with him? Evelyn was blushing furiously, much to Fred's joy, and was obviously trying to find a retort. Fred smirked and sauntered into the classroom. Evelyn scurried after him and sat in her usual seat to Fred's right.

Like two love-sick ten year-olds, the class time was spent throwing side-way glances and slight blushes between the two. Poor Binns, the poor old ghost just wanted to teach History of Magic, not watch young adults act like a pair of silly love-struck birds.

* * *

By the time class had ended Fred's nerves were bouncing off the walls of his stomach and he was starving. He glanced at Evelyn as she packed up her things. _Was she purposefully going slow? _Fred chewed his lip, trying to think of the right approach, _would she think I'm daft if I asked her to lunch. _He sighed. _I'm a pathetic wanker. Can't even ask out a pretty girl. _He must have sighed quite loudly as Evelyn suddenly looked at him, eyebrows creased.

"Something wrong? You need me to move?" She quickly backed away from her seat as Fred mentally slapped himself,

NO! I uh- I mean no, you're totally fine. I was actually wondering if...well if maybe you'd like to erm-" Fred struggled to find the words as he rubbed his neck, feet shifting in his awkwardness. He could feel the crimson rising in his cheeks. "HavelunchattheGryffindortabl ewithme?" He said his proposal in a rush, the words tripping over themselves. Evelyn's eyes crinkled as she smiled. Fred squeezed his eyes shut, _bloody, bloody idiot of an oaf! _And then,

"Correct me if I'm wrong, I'm hardly fluent in fast talk, but what I got is you asking me to lunch with the Gryffindor table. Is that right?" He peeked at her through his lashes, she was blushing, but smiley hugely. Fred let out a sigh of relief.

"Uh- yes that was what I was asking, sorry about the fast- Oof!" He was cut off as Evelyn's arms wrapped around him as she hugged him.

"I would love to have lunch with you guys!" Beaming she pulled away, all too soon, before grabbing Fred's wrist as she began to drag him out of class. "Hurry, I'm starved!"

* * *

"So, Hermione mentioned you were home schooled." Evelyn nearly choked on her pumpkin juice. She looked at Fred in shock,

"Wh-what? Hermione...OH! Oh yes, sorry. Yes, my grandfather taught me everything up until now." She nodded in a distracted way. Fred studied her, rather taken aback by her reaction.

"If you'd rather not talk about it, I understand. I just want to get to know you better..." He turned his attention back to his meal before he could see her face at his obvious affection. She chuckled,

"Of course, I'm sorry I'm so socially awkward!" She laughed and Fred nudged her laughing too.

"Well so long as you're good at Quidditch, all I care about." He winked at her as she blushed, still giggling.

"What if we play twenty questions?" Fred frowned and Evelyn quickly explained,

"We ask each other twenty questions, you can play it as a guessing game or, in our case, a get to know you game." Fred grinned at the mention of 'our', downed his pumpkin juice and turned to face her, an evil glint in his eye. Her bright blue eyes widened in surprise and he stared her down.

"Challenge accepted." He grinned wickedly, "I'll go first. So, Evelyn Winters, do you live up to your name and have an aversion to winter?" Evelyn threw back her head and cackled. When she looked at him, Fred felt the breath rush out of his chest. Her eyes sparkling, hair falling over her face, cheeks pink, she looked absolutely gorgeous. He fought the urge to push her hair back with all his might as he smiled back at her.

"Of all, ALL the questions you could have asked, you go with that?" Fred nodded, "Very well, so be it. Yes, I adore winter. The frost, the snow, the cozy fires, the hot chocolate, I love it all. Now, my turn, what is your favorite hobby?"

Fred leant back against the table, eyes narrowed, lips pursed as he thought. He drummed his fingers together before holding one up, flourishing it about the air,

"Well, Quidditch is most definitely up there, however, I would have to say my favorite hobby would have to be jokes." Evelyn cocked her head, opening her mouth to speak before Fred placed a finger over her lips. He tried to ignore the shock of electricity that zapped through him and ignored the thought _why is her skin so cold_? Instead he began to explain.

"You'll find this out soon enough, but I'd rather you hear it from me. You see, George and I, we have a bit of a reputation. Call it what you like, rule-breaker, trickster, up-to-no-good-meddling-kids, geniuses," He threw in a wink, "We prefer the terms prankster and/or jokester. We are the height of humorism my dear, and we are bloody good at it. In fact, we're hoping to open our own joke shop!"

"That's brilliant!" Evelyn's eyes lit up right as a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders. She shrieked and spun around to face George. Fred frowned at his twin, for just a moment, before matching his grin. George sat down right in between the two, ignoring Fred's quiet growl. He smiled silkily at Evelyn, who looked completely bewildered,

"It's more than just brilliant, Evelyn. It's the greatest idea the two of us have ever had. Right Freddie boy?" He turned to his twin who nodded vivaciously,

"It'll be the turn of the century - "

"The next big thing - "

"And the best part - "

"The absolute cherry on top - "

"Is we'll be bloody rich enough to take over the world!" The two finished together in unison, arms around each other as they looked expectantly at Evelyn. Her eyebrows were raised, yet a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. She nodded slowly, as though processing the news before she stood. She stood in front of the boys, leaned down and placed one hand on each of their shoulders. She looked at them both, eyes lingering a fraction of a second longer on Fred. Fred tried to not make to much of this, but his heart was pounding against his chest.

"You're right, I don't know what I was thinking. It's not just brilliant, it's bloody brilliant, fantastic even. And I want in." Her eyes slid back to Fred's, who was positively beaming at her. He, couldn't control it anymore, springing out of his seat, he wrapped his arms around Evelyn, swinging her in the air. The sweet spell of lavender filled his senses as he held her against him. He took one last whiff of her hair before he turned to George,

"Looks like we got ourselves an investor." George smirked at Fred, shooting him the warning look that he was about to embarrass him. Fred tried to stare him down but it was not use.

"Indeed, and it looks like you've got yourself a little crush. Oh, did I say little?" George began to saunter away, grinning as the two blushing individuals, "I meant HUGE!" At this he cackled and sprinted out of the Great Hall. Fred's jaw dropped. His twin was capable of a lot, he knew that, but seriously! Evelyn had only known him a few days, she had to be totally creeped out.

He barely managed to glance at Evelyn. Her pale cheeks were now bright red, her mouth slightly open in shock, but at the same time she was fighting a grin. _Wait. _Fred thought, _She couldn't possibly...feel the same-_ He stopped the thought before it completely formed. But all the signs were there, she was even biting her lower lip to stop the smile and was looking at her feet. Fred felt his heart give way as he looked at her. _Oh for Merlin's sake! It's like I'm already bloody in love with her!. _At this Fred thought back to George, wondering if he had perhaps ruined Fred's non-existent love life for good.

"I'll kill him." At this Evelyn's head shot up, her smile gone, her eyes piercing into his. He stared back at her, caught off guard by her sudden change. She studied him for a moment before smiling again. She began to walk away, calling over her shoulder,

"Only kill him it it's not true, cause then he's made a fool of us all." She sauntered out of the Great Hall, Fred practically melted into the Gryffindor table, an incredulous grin spread across his face.

_She likes me!_


	10. Chapter 10

**AHHHHHH I AM SO SORRY! School has pretty much killed my vibe for this story buuuuut! I found it at work and typed this on my iPod, so it might suck. THANK YOU all who reviewed! Please, PLEASE keep it up and I will try and be a better person to follow! **

****_Dear Aberforth, _

_I'm sorry I have not writing in awhile, Hogwarts is so busy! How are you? How is Hogsmeade? I miss you so! But, I have very good news, I've made friends, met the famous Harry Potter (you and I have a bone to pick about my overly sheltered childhood I'll have you know) and, last but not leads, I have a crush who reciprocates! I think. (See what your sheltering has done?! I can't even say "I have a crush" like a normal bloody person!) Anyhoo, it's Fred Weasley, I wrote you about him before, remember? Well hopefully you do. His twin, George, implied that Fred liked me awhile back and Fred got so embarrassed and when I asked Hermione about it (in confidence of course and after implying towards Fred that I like him as well) she said that those were telltale signs that he likes me! He's very sweet, carries my books and all. However, he hasn't made a move on me...is that odd? It's been weeks! And there's a perfect opportunity coming up; the Yule Ball. It's all apart of this Triwizard shenanigans. _

_Speaking of! I have been very careful, as per your request, and have so many updates! I feel awful for not writing you grandfather, I am so very sorry. To start out with, Harry (you know, the great famous wizard who saved humanity AS A BABY...the one you conveniently forgot to tell me about! I looked like a bleeding idiot when I asked him why he had such a big head about himself...don't look at this letter in horror. Those were not my exact words.) but Harry was chosen as a champion, which was already illegal due to the fact that he's under seventeen years of age, but to make matters worse, he was chosen after Cedric Diggory! A Hufflepuff. So now Harry has not only been an outcast, but everyone thinks he somehow cheated and fooled the Goblet of Fire. Even his best friend Ron Weasley was against him...but he forgave him after the first task. Which brings me to my next point. _

_DRAGONS. The first task was comprised of DRAGONS, Grandfather! It was amazing! They were so majestic, beautiful, graceful, and deadly of course. I was frozen in awe the entire task. Perhaps we should vacation in Romania this year. In fact, on of Fred's brothers, Charlie, lives there and works with dragons. Just food for thought. _

_So, now there's this Yule Ball coming up and I would be lying if I said I wasn't hoping for Fred to ask me (obviously). But the Ball's in a week's time and Fred hasn't put forth any intention of asking me. Maybe I read things wrong..._

_I WILL NOT ALLOW MYSELF TO BE DRAGGED DOWN BY THIS! _

_Sorry Abe, my spirits have been plummeting recently and Roger's worried it will start effecting my Chasing. OH YES! Of course, I made the starting Ravenclaw Quidditch team as a Chaser! That's a pretty big deal for someone who's never played before...are you sure my parents didn't play? Well perhaps their talent passed down to me! _

_You'll be pleased to hear that I'm doing very well in classes. Aggy's doing well. The other day she caught a rampant Blast-Ended Skrewt without killing him. While it was a shame for the other students, Hagrid was very pleased. _

_I have several questions for you about many sensitive topics. I hope to see you soon, there ought to be a Hogsmeade trip quite soon. _

_With Love, _

_Evelyn Winters_

_P.S. Also, I'm keeping to myself in other areas of my expertise, so you needn't worry_

_P.P.S ...Wands are stupid. _

__Evelyn sighed, setting her quill down and rubbed her eyes. It was a quarter past midnight and she had barely addressed her mountain of homework. She yawned. Between Quidditch, school, and sneaking her own private lessons of her powers, she hardly had time to stop and think. Usually when she did, however, her thoughts would lead to Fred and the confusion in that part of her life, so she tried to avoid quiet time.

Evelyn frowned as her thoughts wondered back to the redhead. True, he hadn't cut off any contact with her, he still carried her books, invited her to lunch, and was almost always around. Perhaps she misread his kindness as something more, yet Hermione assured her there was no way Fred didn't like her. But even Hermione couldn't explain why he had not asked her to the Ball.

Not that it mattered. Evelyn scowled and sealed her letter. If Fred didn't want to take her to the Ball then that was his problem. She stood and gasped from the rush of heat through her lethargic veins. Holding her hand up to her face, she studied the smooth skin. The once blue staining of the veins on her white skin were now flickering with orange. Her powers were starting to make themselves known, eventually bursts of fiery pain would burst through her skin. Evelyn shuddered, remember how painful it had been the last time; she had been three.

Her eyes scoped the vacant common room, just in case. Flicked her right wrist, sending the pointer and thumb out and the ring and pinky in. A light warm puff enveloped her palm before a small fireball wafted into being. The orange orb flickered and sputtered with life. She smiled and brought her left hand over the sphere, pulling it into her left hand, spinning it around the two. Once she felt her stomach calm down, she collapsed the fire back into her hand. She shoved the poking of her soon to be blocked fire chakra if she didn't get over this whole Fred thing into the back of her mind, and headed out the door.

* * *

The doors of the castle were wide open, nevertheless, Evelyn plowed on and took her first glacial step into the night air when a voice stopped her.

"Well, well, Snow White. Where are you off to on this oh so beautiful evening?" Evelyn looked up to meet the face of the blond boy, Malfoy. He had called her that the first day of class; A muggle storybook character. Evelyn bit her tongue in her surprise at his appearance. He was leaning against the brick of the castle, his cheeks pink from the cold, a predatory smile plastered onto his face. Evelyn took a step back into the castle. He closed the space. "You see, I thought you looked familiar. Seems I was right." He licked his lips, his grey eyes flicking towards the sky in feigned wonder. Evelyn tried to step around him, he blocked her and she suddenly realized just how alone she was.

"What do you want?" She tried to keep her voice steady but his eyes darkened at the slight waver in her question. Her spine tingled as she became overly aware of the Earth around her, fear coursing through her she began to breath deeply, trying to keep the chakra open and flowing. Malfoy grinned,

"I'm so sorry, I should get to my point, it's a bit nippy." Evelyn tried to stop the involuntary goosebumps from spreading across her arm, but who was she kidding! At least her fear level had slightly subsided. "See, I was just wondering, how it is **you **got into **Ravenclaw**!" He looked at her incredulously, eyes wide and confused. It was all a faced. This boy was nothing but an actor. Her survival kicked into gear as she glared at him, telling herself to push past this git and send her letter. Yet no matter how her brain screamed in protest, her heart screamed just a bit louder. Draco Malfoy knew something and he was taunting her like a cat with a string.

"What are you talking about?" Malfoy's grin turned into a satisfied smirk, he had her,

"Why you parents of course." She felt her face pale, her jaw droop and her feet take an unplanned step towards this total stranger! She caught herself, shoved away from him and began to push past Draco,

"You don't know anything about my parents!"She escaped into the frozen air, his silky chuckle followed her,

"No. It would seem you are the one who knows nothing about your parents." Evelyn turned to retort, wanting to tell him to keep his mouth shut, but he was gone.

She stood alone in the dark, the cold filling her.


End file.
